Vietnam

Wade Hubbard only spent five years in the Air Force. During that time he was awarded FIVE Distinguished Flying Cross medals, Thirty Air Medals and the Purple Heart. “Mother” Hubbard joins us for our regular feature in partnership with the Distinguished Flying Cross Society. The mission of the DFC Society is to honor, preserve and teach the legacy or heroism or extraordinary achievement in aerial flight for which the Distinguished Flying Cross is awarded. Wade wanted to fly and decided [...]

Cobra gunship pilot Lew Jennings flew 726 missions in Vietnam, receiving over 50 combat decorations including three Distinguished Flying Cross citations for Valor and 36 Air Medals.  He published a memoir about helicopter combat in Vietnam named “19 Minutes to Live”. He joins us as part of our partnership with the Distinguished Flying Cross Society. Vietnam was considered the first “helicopter” war. Over 12,000 helicopters flew 5.25 million sorties. Eighty percent of the light observation helicopters, forty seven percent of [...]

The Distinguished Flying Cross is our nation’s fourth highest award for heroism and the highest award for extraordinary aerial achievement. Three time DFC recipient Ross Detwiler and his fellow “Misty” pilots volunteered to fly some of the most dangerous missions of the Vietnam War. Twenty two percent of the forward air controllers were shot down. Ross was among them. The original Forward Air Control missions were flown in much slower, propeller driven aircraft. However, because the loss rates of pilots [...]

Mended Wings: The Vietnam War Experience through the Eyes of Ten American Purple Heart Pilots is a compelling collection of stories of heroism. Author Colin P. Cahoon served as an Army helicopter pilot himself and the book is his homage to the generation that came before. Colin didn’t set out to be a helicopter pilot, but started in Air Assault School. After being dropped off in the woods and having to trudge back to base, he realized that the helicopter [...]

“The League of Wives; The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home” is Heath Hardage Lee’s homage to this very inspirational group of women.  Heath has worked in the women’s history space for twenty years and was horrified that this narrative had never been told. In addition to the tragedy of having their husbands as prisoners of war or missing in action, perhaps the most heartbreaking aspect of this story is [...]

“Unforgotten in the Gulf of Tonkin; A Story of the US Military’s Commitment to Leave No One Behind” is a superbly researched book.  “We will leave no person behind” is an ethos of our military dating as far back as before the Revolutionary War. Author Eileen Bjorkman served 30 years in the Air Force, much of it as a flight test engineer. She has experience with more than 25 different military aircraft. Flight Test Engineers are behind the scenes personnel [...]

Glyn Haynie turned 19 years old one month after he set foot in Vietnam. Military service was in his family blood; a Haynie from every generation has served going back to the American Revolution.  Still, it was disconcerting that despite an Army policy against brothers serving together in combat, Glyn and his brother were shipped to Vietnam together. Literally on the same flight. Glyn Haynie has published seven books, three related to his experiences in Vietnam and the years that [...]

The siege of Khe Sahn was one of the most ferocious and epic battles of the Vietnam War. Ken Rodgers was there and has produced a compelling documentary that everyone should watch: “Bravo! Common Men, Uncommon Valor". Ken’s documentary features interviews and first-hand accounts with 15 Marines and a Navy Corpsman who survived the battle. Khe Sahn pitted 6,000 Marines and our Vietnamese allies against 20,000 or more communist North Vietnamese troops. 274 US personnel were killed and another 2,541 [...]